If the Moon Shines
by Aiko Isari
Summary: Dawn/Dusk. Expanded/merged canon. Sayo has never been an incredibly good girl, she didn't need anyone to tell her that. But when her home is threatened, she'll prove she is a loyal girl. There's no one quite as unpredictable and terrifying as a cornered animal. (Updated every one to two weeks)
1. Prologue: Sliver of a Light

_**A/N:** _I'm eventually going to go to bed at a reasonable hour but it's probably not going to be tonight. So much writing. So much. Anyway, this is an expanded canon of Dawn/Dusk because, you know, I'm crazy. No clue of the update schedule on this but I will try for as much as I can. Expanded and merged canon here, so this will not entirely flip the gameverse on its head. But basically, if the details aren't given in game, I'm jumping for it. And if you don't know the game, but you know Digimon, you're gonna be fine. Maybe.

Challenges: Slots Challenge, Anime/Manga Diversity Challenge prompt K16. write a fic in first person past tense, and Advent Calendar day 25. write a gift fic for a person AND review them. Well, Ryoumafan, here's the gift fic! I'll try to get the review up before I sleep but if not, definitely soon.

Warnings: child abuse, swearing (mostly from Sayo), violence, harm to minors in general, mental illness, and possibly others. Not quite sure of that just yet. Will announce as they appear.

Well, all of that said, please read and review and hang on for the ride!

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><p><em><strong>Prologue: Sliver of Light<strong>_

"Tell me the first thing you remember."

"Aw hell, doc. _Again_?"

I will be the first person to admit I have a bit of a bone to pick with anything related to doctors. I didn't really like being poked at and chained to a stretcher. It wasn't the funny story you wrote home to your grand kids about.

_My first memory was of a flashlight._

Somehow, the fact that therapists were little more than doctors who paid to poke at your psyche instead of your body never sat right with me.

_Apparently, I had bit a couple of people, and made my way onto one of the more dangerous servers of the Digital World. They almost classified me as a dangerous creature, animal, feral, over human. I can't say that bothers me. I have always liked being thought of as a bit savage, a bit wild. I mean, where's the fun in saying "yes, sir" to every little thing?_

The woman (I didn't like calling her last name, or her name in general, really, unless it made her mad) didn't cross her arms, but she did raise an eyebrow. "Sayo. I know we've gone through the experience a lot-"

"Eight damn times," I interrupted, crossing my arms to prove the point. "And that's this month. You have holo-video footage, you have other witnesses you can ask, go annoy them instead of talking to me about old shit that is sure as hell not helping me do my jobs right now!"

_I don't remember anything before that flashlight. I didn't even know my own name. Nothing quite so surreal as having a computer recite your name from an identification scanner and expecting you to accept it._

The woman took a deep breath, and another, and all I thought to do was wonder if the lady needed an oxygen tank. Supposedly, pure oxygen was great for the brain. Maybe that would be the way to tell her to get the hell off of this topic. "It is, in part, why you're cursing at me."

_They told me I had a sister, a sister with hair like mine and bruises on her back and throat and a mother who was going to be locked up for the rest of our lives and a father who had suffered a heart attack because of me. Who might die because of me._

_They didn't understand why after telling me this, that I decided that biting them again was an appropriate course of action, as was running for my life._

I sat back in the chair, tipping it back. "I'm swearing at you because we're goin' nowhere and I've got training in a couple of hours. Night Claw, remember? We're all crazy. We're all bastards. We're all broken. That's the slogan, that's the promise. You ain't getting' no namby-pamby repairable little kids on this side."

"Your optimism is reassuring to me," she said to me. Her lips twitched.

I cackled. "You're the one who ain' puttin' it down on your pretty little pad, are ya?" I couldn't help but give her a suggestive wag of the eyebrows. "Come on Annie, humor me a little." I rubbed at my dark jacket. "Lemme go to work, love."

She didn't protest the pet name this time. Kinda weird, but maybe I puffed out her steam. "How's your sister?"

Damn, that was a fast change of subject. "Yuki? Ehm..." I fiddled with my hat, searching for words. "She's all right, right now. Lonely with just her and dad, but I'll see her at the end of the month."

"Has she said anything?"

I raised an eyebrow, regarding Anya (I will never call her and her sweetly freckled dark-butt Ms. Strider. She was around way too much for that. "Not to people she don't like."

"You mean basically everyone."

"Humans are a pain in the ass."

_None of these people knew shit about common decency. Still don't._

"And yet," Anya said, giving me a pleasant smile. "The Digimon are still asking for our help even now."

I glowered at her. I hated when the woman used logic on me.

She snorted when I said so. "Sayo, that's because you are obsessively determined to be _right_ every damn day."

Well, she had me there. Still, I managed a smile worthy of a true-blue Night Claw prepared to ruin the lives of everyone around her. "I got a curse word out of you. Does that mean I can go?"

She pinched her nose. "Yes. You can go." I shot from my chair. "You're going to have to talk about your problems someday, Sayo."

I waved a hand at her, running out the door as fast as I could without losing my hand.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered as soon as I was out of earshot, pulling my socks back up. "Fuck if I'm talking about it anytime soon." Didn't have time for that mess.

I ran past dark walls, lights kept somewhat dim for the people who had vision problems and those who flinched at the sight of flickering bulbs. Neither issue described me, but all the new recruits had the latter for a while. Enough times near a Tyrannomon breathing fire near a Renamon's crystal attacks gave most Normal Tamers enough nightmares to last 'em weeks.

Yeah, here at Night Claw, the first thing you learned to do was dodge. Or die. Julia's a strict bitch, but she loves us all.

Most of the time.

I waved at the guards to the city and resisted the urge to make a really horrible chess pun. I never thought it was fair to do that to a Bishop and RookChessmon. I know that must be the dumbest thing to hear in the mornings.

"She's right," chimed my Digivice, or rather, one of the creatures inside of it did that. "You're going to have to talk about it one of these days."

I pouted at the device, stepping onto the blue square and clicking the middle button. "What difference is it gonna make? I don't remember, and really, I don't really _wanna_." For a moment, I remembered being stuck to a bed and shrugged my shoulders to make sure they were still mobile. "Julia don't care, so long as I do my jobs right, so neither should anybody else."

Inside the device, one partner let out a sigh, but went quiet as my body lit up blue. I grit my teeth and swallowed.

I was never gonna get used to teleportation pads.

"Where the hell have you been?" Newton toyed with his blue beanie hat, which I knew for a fact he only wore because he hated his haircut every time he was forced to have one. His right foot was up in mid-tap, and I rolled my eyes.

"It wasn't my fault this time," I told him, and Dorothy, who was peering at the Digital World below the CITY Server with the same obsessive fascination she had every time one of our team (usually me) made the others wait too long. "Annie kept trying to get me to talk about my _feelings_." I didn't add air quotes, figured my voice could do it for me.

Newton snorted. "In other words, do her job."

I shot him a pout, purple eyes blown wide. "You're an ass, Newton."

"Least I don't harass a chick for not being as bad as the other psychos they send our way."

"He's kind of got you on that," Dorothy chirped, finally pulling away from her observing of what were likely specks of Digimon. I have no clue what she saw down there. "Now, come on. The Chief is waiting at Thriller Ruins. Tournament training and all of that."

I clapped my hands together and rubbed them. "Oh good, I get to practice my killing strike on unsuspecting Light Fangs."

Newton snorted. "I love how you assume they're just target practice." He shoved me into the golden portal and I glared at him mockingly.

"Everyone's an appetizer to me, brainiac. Even you."

Then I stood back and waited for the feeling of my entire body being dissolved and reassembled across another network.

Again. Teleportation sucked.


	2. Chapter 1: Line at the Cafe

_**A/N: **_Hello, all! Late as heck update, but I need to get some sleep sooner or later, and this decided to argue with me and have short chapters. Well, shortish. Anybody who reads Pile and Light are probably raising their eyebrows at me right now. Eh, oh well. It's all right. I'm happy you're liking it so far, Ryoumafan. I'm super sleepy and hope everything's been edited okay. That all said, please read and review!

Little note: that tidbit Sayo made about the oxygen was incredibly inaccurate, but it's Sayo, and I imagine she doesn't know. Thanks for that heads up KumoFuzei!

Warning: F-bombs, past improper treatment of children, allusion to pyromania.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter One: Line at the Cafe<strong>_

"You're late, Sayo. _Again_."

I tried not to roll my eyes at her clicking tongue, pulling my hat and goggles back down on my hair and wiping my mouth. No one laughed. Everyone knew about my legendary teleportation sickness. Alternate servers were the worst, especially since Thriller Ruins smelled like mildew. "Sorry, Chief," I said, saluting with the biggest amount of fake enthusiasm imaginable. "_Your _therapist decided it was important to try and remind me I'm fucked up in the head."

Julia's eye twitched (at the curse or my derision of Annie, not sure) and I took great pride in making that happen. Oh _sure_, I could play the- what was that real world term, Girl Scout?- the goody two shoes and be all contrite, but Julia liked me being anything but, and who was I to deny the _Queen of Darkness_ her desires? She looked ready to say something, but then stopped herself. Good.

The first time I met Julia, I was chained to a bed. I was fucking chained to a hospital bed. I half expected a god damn muzzle. Then again, I didn't know what a muzzle was, so maybe. I knew what bodily functions were, I hadn't forgotten how to read, or how to walk, or how to chew. (I might forget those one day, that would be a pain.) All I knew was how to get the hell outta dodge, and that until I wasn't chained to something, that was gonna be a doozy of a task.

Even now, years later, I know for a fact that she was the one with the sadistic idea to chain me to a bed. Her eyes had been a little too amused by the whole ordeal, if you know what I mean. Eh, I do get back at her anyway. Like now.

Letting it go, she tapped her foot and then faced us all, arms crossed. "Very well then, let's get started. Normal Tamers, form up!"

We don't scramble. Informal and insane we Night Claw may be, we know what discipline is. She took the high ground, standing over us with her first partner, her loyal knight. ChaosDukemon stared down at us, arms crossed and expression likely something amused. If there was anybody I heard be vocal about the stupidity of the Rank Tournaments, it was ChaosDukemon. Apparently Ofanimon wasn't much better, but she had a smile, so everybody listened to her. Eh, wasn't my problem. The tournaments were hilarious to me.

Up until now, I only got to watch, little sister's hand tight in mine as claws and fangs and flashes of power broke stadiums. (The Platinum Tournament had to be relocated last year, and I couldn't even go!)

Now, I got to feast.

"All right, I know for some of you this seems like no big deal." Julia knew how to make her voice ring without shouting, and damned if I didn't wanna know how. "It's the Normal Tournament, you've barely gotten used to your DigiSoul and your team, hell, you're not even used to your squad, isn't that right?"

Behind me, someone shifted back on their heels, almost in preparation to backpedal out of the ruins. I didn't even have to look to know it was Ponch, little idiot with a lot to prove and not enough balls to do it.

Then again, anyone with _Gutts_ for a cousin would have to be twitchy. Hate visiting his house. Plates thrown everywhere... eurgh.

Julia noticed, she noticed damn near everything. "There's nothing wrong with those feelings. Those feelings are natural. They are fear. Everyone standing here is well aware of what fear looks like."

Gutts laughed. Newton kicked behind him without tearing his gaze away, landing a solid kick to the other's thigh. I failed to muffle a snigger. ChaosDukemon glanced at me, and I just winked. I can't help myself sometimes, I'm a horrible person.

Julia continued on, stepping closer to the ledge. Anyone else would have hesitated. Thankfully, Julia never did. If her cubs were in danger, then so was she. "It is precisely because we see fear, that we know it, that we can _eat_ it."

All of us shivered. We couldn't help ourselves. Her expression had lost its calm long ago, replaced with intense, unbridled loving fury.

"It is because we can devour fear that we can look at them, our rivals, and face them. They are _strong_, they know competition better than we do, they are healthy free, and safe. Very few of them are like us, and Glare makes sure of that. Rich bastards for family are more difficult to deal with than ordinary bastards."

She laughed, and the sound was sneering music to my ears. "All of that said, they have the advantage of not questioning their next meal, or checking for all of their teeth, or not having to cringe at the sun. But we have the advantage of knowing the answer to that question, and that answer is that we will snatch it by any means necessary, as that is no less than our complete and utter right! We are Night Claw, and victory is in our souls! Is that _clear_?"

"Sir!" God, whenever she talked that, it was like preparing to go to war or to bed. I wanted it, wanted my blood to scream in my ears. I licked my lips and punched the air. It was bluster, a lot of barking, a Dobermon's yowling but it was the best truth I had to follow. She was worse with a solo audience.

"Good." Unfortunately, ChaosDukemon did have a tendency to boom. "The Digimon here won't interfere with you today, but you may have some _uninvited __observers_. Try not to hit them."

"Their fault if they get in the way," Gutts shouted, and Ponch roared his agreement, now that he had something to agree with. We laughed.

A smile ghosted over Julia's face. "Fair enough. Disperse!"

"Sir!"

Newton bounced from one foot to the other. "Dorothy, Sayo, let's go further in! Kokuwamon's itching to set something on fire!"

Right, that was what his _partner_ wanted. Ri-ight.

Dorothy giggled near my ear. "Set something on fire, he said."

I grinned. "Hope everything burns equally." We hurried after him. We eventually found him perched by a server pillar. He spun his Digivice. "Kokwamon, get Sayo!"

From above, I saw the glimmer of electricity and spun to the side, dragging Dorothy with me. Her normal eased expression was now a twisted frown and flaring nostrils. "He did say, setting everything on fire," I reminded her and she scowled a bit, raising her own Digivice.

"Floramon, pin him!"

I grinned. "Pulling out the big guns then? All right! I'll let you take this one, Lunamon!" My Digivice flashed and the Lunamon leaped from the dark void she opened above my head. Dropping, her ears spun, filling the air with bubbles. Kokuwamon cringed back, right into Floramon's waiting arms.

"Electrocute her," Newton shouted. "She's Insect, she can take it."

Kokuwamon's body sparked white and Floramon dropped him like a stone. She let out a scoff of anger, petaled hair standing on end. I snorted, couldn't help myself.

Dorothy scoffed a bit, blue Soul Energy flashing by her fingers. "You're such a charmer. Blast him!" Floramon moved to whip him in the face.

Well, I couldn't have that. I whistled and Lunamon spun and swiped at the vines. Floramon yelped and Diana lunged, firing an arrow of ice. Floramon stumbled into Kokuwamon. The beetle made to zap her. She slapped him.

I snapped my fingers. "Now, seal em!"

Lunamon spun her ears again, and the bubbles spread, heading towards the two Digimon like a seeping foam. God, it looked hilarious to see a Taser beetle and a walking flower stuck in a bubble trap. If Floramon tried anything, it'd blast their brains out. Which she promptly did.

Needless to say, it didn't end well.

I cackled with laughter and put my hands behind my back. "How's that?"

"Cheat!" Newton shouted, rushing to his twitching partner. "Cheater! Kokuwamon's weak to thuh-hat. Ch-Cheat!"

I kept my face as normal as possible, while Dorothy slipped an arm around Newton's waist. "You're the one always drilling strategy into my head, Newt. Don't blame me if I know how to punch holes into yours."

Newton's chest heaved for a moment, then he nodded, head bobbing too fast and dislodging his beanie from his head. "S-Sorry, yeah, right..."

"Besides," Dorothy giggled, slipped from seriousness as easy as I dropped a bouncy ball. "Sayo doesn't play fair."

"I don't have to," I protested. "Animals don't play fair, why should I?" Seeing Lunamon roll her eyes, I flicked her in the nose. Seeing Newton huff and snicker and Dorothy giggle again, I pouted and put my hands on my hips. "Fine. You know what? Fine. You want me to get kicked around? All right, you've got it. Hey, Raigo! Hey stal-lker, where are you?"

From behind a wall, there was an amused grunt. "What are you shouting for, wild girl?" Raigo mussed his red spikes as he stepped into view. I had to admit, Julia liked picking the weirdos for her higher ups Raigo, mid-level in his Tamer crop, didn't have the strongest Digimon or Soul level (For you kiddies out of the loop, that meant he's not all that natural at kicking ass.), but he managed to convert a Vamdemon's data in one go with only a Veggiemon and a Tailmon. People still whisper it like the stuff of legend, and the Vamdemon haven't forgotten it earlier.

I placed my hands on my jean-hugged hips. "Well, you see, these two are calling me a cheat."

Raigo pushed up his glasses. "What, you're not?"

Newton let out a snort. "See, told you." He was breathing slow and easy again, which meant that I could turn on Raigo and glared.

"You're the one who told strategy was key," I shot back, puffing out my cheeks.

Raigo's grin split his face. "Was it strategy or blood rushing through your veins that said "drench them in a free-for-all", eh squirt?"

Newton sniggered and I turned my nose up. "Both. Now, c'mon, Raigo. Soothe Newt's poor ego and kick my can around."

Raigo tutted and shook his head no, glancing back at where he came. "While I'd like to shove you into a wall, dizzy and smarting with anger, I can't. A little bat told me that some Infermon have decided to nest in the back areas. They're supposed to listen to the Chief... but I've never known a _wild _to willingly listen to anybody."

He winked at me, and I snickered. "Don't knock it until you try it."

Dorothy let out a dreamy giggle. Then her mouth opened wide in concern and she pulled Newton to the ground. "Down! Down! Down!" She shouted and we all reacted, rolling away from potential debris. Then the ground started to shake, each of our cells vibrating. Floramon flung vines to cover Dorothy and Newton and we waited. When it calmed, nobody moved until Dorothy did. She raised her head slow, lifting her eyes and tilting her head in time with some innocent tune.

"Is kay," she said after a few minutes. "No more."

I pulled myself to my feet. "Damn, Dorothy, you're gonna have to teach me how to sense like that."

"It certainly is useful." Raigo rolled into a smooth crouch.

Dorothy smiled, the expression completely relaxed. "It's not very hard," she said, patting Floramon's leafy arms with one hand. "All you have to do is lis- Sayo!"

I turned and something struck me in the back, hard. I whirled to face a green, goblin creature. Its large fangs slobbered purple, dribbled poison. Dull red eyes glimmered like dying coals as it advanced towards me.

"Kill," it croaked, taking a step forward. "Kill... Tamers..._Kill._"

"Oh, _fuck_," I muttered.

So much for just having uninvited observers.


	3. Chapter 2: Varying Types of Love

_**A/N: **_Hello! Sorry that this wasn't up yesterday like it should have been, but I decided to do my physics homework in the evening and that was a bad idea because an Aiko is apparently not patient with these physics problems. Oh well, this is up and I'll try to get everything else up now. I'm sorry for how quiet I've been, I've just been having a bit of a slow start to my year. I'll catch up, I swear! Anyway, here we go! Please read and review!

Warnings: Egregious swearing, blood, violence, Lunamon in general, and murder of Digimon if that warrants a warning.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Two: Varying Types of Love<strong>_

_I woke up in a room that smelled. _

_It smelled like bleach and maybe aerosol made of rotten flowers, and the ceiling was spotty like someone had managed to puke on it from down here. I wanted to turn my head and puke myself but I couldn't do much besides turn my head, and even that was an effort worthy of Godzilla._

_The monitor beeped. I hated it already. Later, I would realize it made me think of a smoke alarm, but now I just hated it. God, would it shut up?_

"_Well you're just a right ball of sunshine, aren't you? Groaning like that..."_

I dodged to the left, shaking my head from that little train of thought. Now was not the time for some reminiscing. My Digivice glowed for a moment and Lunamon lunged. Her pale red eyes had darkened to crimson and she spun to the side of a mouth dripping with saliva.

"Mine," she screeched and I winced. "You. Will. Not." Each word was punctuated by a wild slash of claws. "Touch. What's. _Mine_."

One of the first things I had ever learned about my first partner (yes, first, rule was I needed three for some deluded reason) was that the term _possessive _was a humongous fucking understatement. Dorothy was lucky she had met me when the little bugger was still a Baby, because one of Newton's haircuts came from supposedly touching a nerve and Lunamon deciding his head would make good target practice.

I swore up and down that Lunamon would always be worse than me. No one ever believed me though. Bastards.

I slipped back. "Luna, calm the angry rage time! We need to kill it!"

"And I'm doing that!" she half- shrieked.

"You're a Child-level who needs a therapist more than I do!" I retorted, raising my Digivice again. "Gaomon, realize and evolve! So I don't get blood on my pants again..."

"No promises, sir!" The dog burst out, slashing claws into another enemy's eyes. It should have shrieked, but it almost laughed.

And I thought I had issues.

I heard Newton yelp and turned, seeing his leg torn and bleeding. His eyes widened, pupils blown out of normal proportions. Dorothy let out a noise from on a broken pillar, her Floramon lashing vines at Vilemon's head.

"Luna," I snapped, seeing her grinning through careful extraction of binary. "Get to Newton! You kind of kicked Kokuwamon's ass, his other partners don't have enough Soul!" She shot me a pouting look of betrayal, which I ignored. "Go on! Gaogamon can cover me!"

She pouted again, and I was sure I was gonna get a scolding for it later, but whatever. She was the Digimon with the bloodthirsty murder streak. I only like kicking copious amounts of ass, that clear? I am not like Lunamon... that much. Some of the time. I'm going to shut up now, even if this is only in my own head.

Gaogamon decided that now was the perfect time to throw me onto his back (if I haven't made it clear yet, pretty much all of my Digimon were fucking nuts, especially Clockmon. He ticked a lot. Yeah.) He was very lucky I do not have a fear of heights, like Barone. How the hell she lived in Darkmoon escaped my knowledge.

I caught myself on his back, gripping his fur like a life vest as he leaped from one Vilemon to another. I glanced up at Raigo, who had taken to the back of Zanbamon's skeletal horse and brandishing the samurai's smallest sword like a hatchet. He leaped and swung, wincing at the splatter on his glasses.

Man. I wanted a weapon like that.

_Silver Tamers and above only..._

Damn, rank tests sucked.

There was a noise as Gaogamon's claws struck through bone and I wiped my face. "Gaogamon, do ya mind? Just a little?"

Gaogamon snorted at me. "You try crushing things with your paws and see it going well."

I stuck out my tongue. "That's what you guys are around for, killing things that want to kill me."

"Sayo!" I glanced at Lunamon as the last Vilemon dropped to the ground and faded in a shower of red. "Newton!"

I rolled off of Gaogamon's back, calling him back to my Digivice with a hissing spark. God _damn_ it Newton. He shifted back against the broken pillar, trying to wipe the blood from his leg with little success, hands starting to tremble. Dorothy hopped down from her perch, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and beginning to press. He swiped feebly at her but, Dorothy, being the nigh unflappable woman she was, (I had never seen her panic, about anything. Exasperation was probably the worst she'd ever gotten.) shifted her head and only pressed harder. She pulled her hand back and reached for a tissue, beginning to wipe the wound.

Newton let out a whimper, screwing his eyes shut. I patted his shoulder, trying to help him turn. "Come on, buddy," I said. I was trying to sound encouraging. I _know_ I must have sounded insulting. "Look away so you don't puke on Dorothy's hard work."

He managed a sneer. "Easy for you to say," he mumbled. "You're fine."

Actually I was starting to get a migraine the size of ChaosDukemon's shield, but whatever.

Dorothy tutted. "Stay still, I'm not murdering you."

"I think the Vilemon did a good job of attempting that," Newton muttered.

Raigo knelt beside us. "Sayo, you're in the best condition of the three of them. Go on ahead and report the situation. I'll stay here and keep guard in case there's anything worse."

Not to mention, it'd probably be easier to carry Newton on a horse than anything else. I nodded and stood, moving to head back the way we came. Lunamon was practically skipping now. I swear, she acted like I was completely screwed without her insanity.

Screw that, I have been completely screwed with everyone else's sanity anyway.

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><p>Someone shouted a swear word and the following. "Did someone copy these guys into a Data Converter?"<p>

Gutts. Well, that was a pretty fair statement. I glanced at Lunamon. "Come on sweetheart. More slaughtering."

She huffed at me. What, did she think that she _didn't_ act like a serial killer?

That said, she still hauled ass and went streaking into the crowd of leaping Vilemon. It was like a mass of green blood and purple drool clawing for the top of a ridge. Ponch sat cradling the head of his Gabumon, cringing in pain. Gutts was shouting more obscenities at the crowd below, his Digivice shooting purple sparks. I couldn't exactly see and anybody who suggested "go closer to the mass of bat devils" needed their brain checked. Then I heard a wild, agitated shout and long white thread shot up to land above the ridge. Barone went flying up a few seconds later, carrying her Wormmon under one arm. Then she whistled and a blue blur went flying from the crowd, bouncing off of heads and spinning punches.

Well, damn. I _had_ to support that. "Luna!"

"Right, right..." I saw a few Vilemon heads turn and Ponch following their eyes.

"Sayo, move," he shouted. I grinned but ignored him, running towards the fray where Lunamon was practically dancing. She caught hold of me and yanked me away to the ridge, where I scrambled up to the join the other three. It creaked under me, but held.

Gutts was glaring but I wasn't sure if he was actually pissed or not. "I expected that from Newton before you."

"He's indisposed," I replied, glancing at Barone. "Any suggestions, Miss Cool-Cat?"

Barone tugged at her puffy ponytails, chewing on her lip. If anybody wasn't afraid of Barone Summers in Light Fang, they really should be. Dual element affinities were the best. Unfortunately, it can also cause a serious headache, speaking from experience here. She tugged again, eyes darting between Veemon and Lunamon like a ping pong ball. "Sayo, can you k-kinda... close them up?"

I turned that over, tempted to ask for a word. At the sight of Ponch's careful returning of his partner, I decided against it and just yelled for Lunamon.

She glanced at me, nodded, and her ears began to ripple. Veemon hopped out of the way as the world began to turn foamy.

"Luna!" I yelled as the sight of her flashing claws. "Stop cutting them! The bubbles are all red."

And Ponch's face was turning green.

Lunamon let out a sniff and backed away, letting the bubbles wrap around the Vilemon. Ever try to fly with drenched wings? Yeah, it's not fun.

Barone pointed. "Wormmon! Shoot them!" She turned to Gutts, who looked almost bored? God damn, we need to get him a hobby. "C-Can you get Mushroomon to fight?"

Gutts raised his Digivice and nodded. "Bomb them!" He shouted as his partner threw.

There were no shrieking noises, nor sounds of fear and pain. In fact... I strained my ears.

"Are those guys laughing?"

"Okay, this was already weird," Ponch mumbled. "Now it's just _creepy_."

"Don't be such a-" Gutts didn't even get the sentence out before Barone elbowed him in the stomach, eyes rapt on the battle.

The mass beneath our feet was beginning to shrink, and Barone spotted Veemon and whistled. He glowed blue and burst into light, leaving another dragon flying high over the mass. At the sight of him, they began to rise.

I glanced at Barone. "Count of three?"

"Count of one!" Gutts shouted before she could answer as his partner threw. Barone sighed and whistled for Exveemon.

Within minutes, all that was left was smoke and fading bursts of green.

"Thanks, Sayo," Barone said, as I helped her down.

I laughed. "The heck are ya thanking me for? I'm not the one who shot them down."

Barone glanced at Ponch, who was too busy worrying over his Digimon, and Gutts, who was pacing back and forth, and shook her head. "None of us have a binding attack right now, except Wormmon... and he lacks the range. Honestly, we could have come off worse if you hadn't shown up."

If anybody else had dropped those words on me, I'd have preened. Barone, however, just got a nod. She didn't give compliments away like handouts, so, well, I took it a little seriously.

"I'm going to report to Julia," I informed them. "Listen, Newton and Dorothy are back there with Raigo. Newton's leg looks like shit."

"How bad?" Ponch asked, now reaching into his pocket.

"Think I saw bone," I said with a grimace. "but the blood was a bit thick, I might have been seeing things. Ponch, can you take a look?"

Ponch saluted. "I'll take a look at him."

I nodded, gave Lunamon a sharp whistle, and bolted back down the path. That had taken way too long for me. Not that I was worried about Julia. The Chief was fine. Her partner was a psycho, hell, _she _was a psycho. Still a bit of a problem since I had no idea is Newton was bleeding to death or not and that would be shitty, considering the tournament is tomorrow. God damn it, their timing sucked.

The path up ahead was shrouded in smoke, and I took a moment to cover my mouth with my sleeve and breathe. Shit... it stung. My eyes watered and I made a quick gesture to Lunamon. She splashed me without a second thought, taking my free hand and running forward.

"Chief," I barked once I could breathe. "Chief!"

"Sayo."

Fucking hell. Bitch nearly gave me a heart attack.

An armored hand reached and yanked me up by the back of my shirt, tossing me onto the bricks above. Lunamon caught me and glared.

"ChaosDukemon! Don't throw her!" That was the closest she'd get to doing anything about it.

The knight glanced at me rubbing my rear end and shrugged. "She's alive."

"Still!"

"Good to see you're all right." Julia knelt next to me, wiping green blood off of my cheek. I used my stinging free hand to salute.

"Glad to see you're still taking the high ground."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Status report?"

I shrugged. "Raigo, Barone, and I are probably in the best condition. Ponch and Gutts' Digimon are down, and Newton got cut bad in the leg. I asked the others to get him."

Julia nodded. "Duke."

"If I must." He knelt to jump (I braced myself for the inevitable shock wave because he has no fucking self-control on that crap.) when he shifted. "Julia!"

We both turned (I actually felt my neck crack) and on the other side of the area hovered a... thing. Well, to be honest, it just looked like a floating hood with eyes. I know, I'm so helpful.

ChaosDukemon burst off at this point, and I went rolling. "Ow..." I muttered, spitting gravel.

I heard giggling, then a loud thunk as what was probably a lance hitting concrete, and then silence.

"Escaped," ChaosDukemon reported, shaking his hand.

"No shit," I muttered, sitting up. "Chief, on a scale of one to ten, how fucked are we?"

Julia was quiet at first, but when she looked down at me, her face was stone. "As long as we're alive, negative seven."

I glared at her. "That's not comforting, god damn it."

She knelt and reached to retie my bandanna. "I know, but it's all we have."

It really was.


	4. Chapter 3: How to Make a Bang

_**A/N: **_Hey! You know, one of these days, this will get weekly updates. No idea when that's going to be but probably when I get all of this backlog done. Anyway, this remains a very fun fic. No warning other than for the usual violence and the fact that Sayo cannot stop swearing. Oh, and death threats. Anyway, thanks for your support!

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Three: How to Make a Bang<strong>_

One of the most important things that you need to know about me would be that I am not a morning person in any sense of the word. If the world ended, I would probably sleep through it in favor of not getting up before the sun was so high in the sky that it hurt to still be asleep.

Apparently I am the only one with this problem in my group because Dorothy shook me and I could still see the stars through the light of the rising sun. However, she looked like she'd been up all night and didn't even care about the lack of coffee. "Dorothy, what the hell... you said I could sleep in." Urgh, my mouth tasted disgusting.

She shook her head. "Not anymore. Newton had to get his spot in the tournament switched with yours in Group B." Dorothy's daze of a voice sounded sympathetic. "Doctor's orders."

"Can he still fight?" I tried to tug the covers back over my head. I'm dreaming, I have to be fucking dreaming. This sucks...

"He can fight, but the doctor insisted his entry point get switched for longer resting time." Dorothy yanked my blanket away and I glared. At least it was dark, but still. "Yours was the first contestant they picked."

"I'm _murdering_ them," I muttered, rubbing my eyes. "Fucking bastards. I filed in the stupid report, saved people's asses, and now they want me to be their dancing monkey. Urgh."

"Welcome to government work. Enjoy your stay." Dorothy patted my shoulder, grabbing my clothes and throwing them over my head. "Take it out on those little Light Fang kids. Rip them into shreds that we can put in tonight's soup."

You know, I often _think_ shit like that, but I have never said it with the same straight face as Dorothy Evergreen did. To be fair though, I have actually met her mother. She would say that with a straight face.

I grinned, but it was hard because I was so damn tired. I managed to roll myself out of bed. "How long do I have?"

"Twenty minutes to get ready. Registration starts in thirty. The Light Fang are almost all done. We had to wait because of injuries injuries."

I grunted. "Check the squad is okay. I'm going to wash up." I leaped from bed in nothing more than a falling oversized short sleeve shirt. Dorothy squeezed her eyes shut, I know she did because she is a stinking prude who shrieked like the devil the first time she saw my chest. I live on a stupid island thing, no one is gonna actually see me.

Not like I have much to look at in the first place.

"Julia said to pick a uniform you hadn't shredded with your teeth," Dorothy said with her back to me. I scrubbed my face, hating the cold water before traipsing back.

I rolled my eyes, picking a clean outfit from the chest of drawers. "Then she'll have to buy me a new one."

"You really are invested with making an absolutely shitty impression on the Light Fang, aren't you?"

Another straight faced moment, one I deigned to ignore.

I spun my belt over my waist. I didn't know why I bothered with screwing up the girl's uniform. I looked like a boy, and I loved it. Of course, if I had a choice, it could have happened differently, but eh, not important.

"I'm decent," I said, tugging on my socks and cleaning my goggles.

Dorothy giggled, opening her eyes again. "Decently inhumane."

"That was cold," I whined, finishing with my bandanna. "How are the Digimon?"

"In top murdering formation, _tick_!" said Solarmon in a whining grind.

Wonderful. They were all insane. I guess that was perfect fighting condition.

I grunted to myself, tapping my foot as Dorothy creased my bedspread. "Are you done? You're the one who said we had a timer hot on our asses." I snatched my Digivice from her fingers, and she chuckled.

"You're going to fall into bed when today's over," Dorothy said with a wink. "Least I can do is make it easier on you."

Hmph. She had me there, I guess. Still. Damn her.

I tapped my foot and almost smacked into Phascomon on my way out. "Whoa, sorry, man. Don't eat the pudding, all right?"

"Oh, you're no fun at all," the bear protested. I took a minute to kneel and scratch one of his matted ears. He scratched my arm in return and I pouted when it drew blood. Little bastard. All of my Digimon were sadists. All of them.

Well, okay, there was that Scan Data in my computer. They were pretty innocent. But they'd be corrupted soon enough.

I hopped to the portal and Dorothy took my hand. Okay, no one tell anybody, but taking the teleporter pad with a person made it easier. Or maybe it was just because it was Dorothy. Hard to tell, really.

We crept across the quiet Darkmoon City. The early morning made me yawn, but the lack of people just made me uncomfortable. I always felt I had to whisper during the mornings.

"How are the others?"

"Good night's sleep perked them right back up. Barone, you, and me are on A team."

I winced and rubbed my head. "Shi-it. I have to face Barone."

Dorothy hummed a laugh. "Her dual affinity has been blocked for the tournament. So's yours."

"Damn it, they just want to eat my ass."

Despite just hearing that my ace in the hole was now drowning in a ditch under the city for the time being, I grinned. Challenge accepted, you meddling old farts. If I didn't hate transportation, I'd have skipped to the pad.

But, it was me, and I'm a boy-girl person. Not happening.

* * *

><p>It took forever for registration to end. I came into the Wait Room with barely a few minutes to breathe. Barone gave me a yawn and a wave, offering a plate of salmon and asparagus.<p>

At this point, I was too hungry to say no, and I _hate_ teriyaki sauce.

"Your turn yet," I asked between bites.

Barone shook her head, rubbing at the eyeliner. "Ch-Chief is sih-hitting-" She yawned. "Through the opening ceremonies. Th-threatened to punch the mic down the referee's throat if they took as long as they di-hid last year."

Dorothy and I both laughed. She'd do it too. The Chief has never made an empty threat.

"H-how's Ne-Newton?" Barone yawned again, rubbing her eyes.

"Ticked," Dorothy chirped, since I had no damn clue. "He wanted to be here now and tearing through Light Fang jackets and all of that."

"We are such good sports," I said with a sigh, slumping onto a nearby bench. "I'm so tired~"

For a while, we were all quiet. If we were nervous, after yesterday, we were stupid. Bunch of kids in a controlled environment, compared to some Vilemon swarming like parasites after our heads? Nah, we were golden. I rolled over, staring at the portal. What was that dude waxing on about? Playing fair? Did he realize what psychos he was talking to?

Finally, it flashed and Julia stepped into view. Her eye was twitching. Aww, shit.

"That bad?" Dorothy said, giggling a little. Don't giggle at your aunt like that, you crazy bitch.

Julia mussed her hair with a low sigh, deciding, much like I did, to ignore Dorothy being chirpy like that. "After that horrific accident that was that man on the podium, I think the audience is baying for some excitement. I think my girls are capable of doing that, hm?"

The humming noise made us straighten where we were. Oh, hell to the yes. Electricity ran up my spine, scaring away all of my exhaustion. It was time, fuck coffee.

"Barone."

The blond girl shifted."Y-yes ma'am?"

"Play it defensively." She tossed a pendant to her and to me. "Since you two aren't allowed to have as much fun, keep as much close to your chest as possible, so long as you don't ruin the show."

Barone saluted. "R-right! I'll give it my best."

Dorothy gave Julia a dazed smile before she could speak. "I know the drill: keep it to the speed, quick tap, don't expect much from my section. Oh," She winked at me. "And pray I don't face Sayo in the lottery draw."

Barone burst into giggles, and ChaosDukemon cracked a snort.

I only grinned. "The usual, boss lady?"

Julia fixed me with a grave stare, then she smiled. Let me tell you, when Julia smiles like a cat with the cream, it means nothing but good things. "Make sure they see _red_."

I rolled from the bench and straightened into a salute. "Yes, sir."

And I meant every bit of that salute, let me tell you.

* * *

><p>The battles were never all that good in the beginning, straightforward battlefield, no environment, and all the hot ass lights.<p>

But it was a stage, and if there was anything I found fun that was controlled by adults, it was showing off.

I took lazy steps into view. The crowd didn't roar. It was too soon after shitty speech number one-thirty. The girl on the other side was almost impossible to see in her bright Light Fang outfit.

She waved at me. "Hi! Ooh, you look a mess."

Hey, she wasn't woken way too early. Oh wait...

I grinned, jagged and toothy. To her credit, the girl didn't get flustered. I could respect that. I made it into view. "You're... Komachi, huh?"

"Yeah!" her braids bounced as she cheered. "And you're... oh, you're Sayo, right?"

My grin widened. "Afraid so."

"Oh, then this will be tough!" she held out her Digivice. "If I can get through you, it's just Barone left!"

_Just Barone? _I snorted. "Ooh, do I feel sorry for you. Don't worry, though." I cracked my knuckles. "It ain't happenin'."

The referee raised one pale hand. "Group A, battle two! Begin!"

I didn't even have to think. "Solarmon, realize! Shield!"

"Yes, tick!" The orange gear burst out, just as as a claw struck towards my face. They clanged and I laughed.

Komachi winced. "Ooh, I forgot you were suppoed to be speedy!" Agumon crouched back by her feet, fireball forming.

"Ain't all I am, firehead!" I grinned. "Switch, Gaomon, spin!"

Gaomon's fist connected with a fireball and he winced. Agumon lunged, swiping. Gaomon backpedaled, dodging and dancing. The look on the enemy's face was utter irritation and I was cheering so much on the inside.

Komachi glanced at me, and there was an odd look on her face. Eh, whatever, she was weird. Light Fangs were weird. I proclaimed it as law.

Gaomon ducked under and kicked Gaomon in the stomach, wincing at the flames to his face. "You all right," I called, shifting, prepared to switch again. She had only shown one. I had shown two. Did she have another?

"I'm fine," he coughed, shaking away the smoke and jumping back to me. "Her Agumon's a nuisance though. Get ready."

I bared my teeth. "Sir, yes sir."

If he wasn't wearing big ass boxer gloves, I would guess he was flipping me off for that one. "Soul, Charge!" I snapped out, feeling the energy swirl about my fingertips and to Gaomon himself. He lunged mid-evolution, smacking Agumon to the edge of the ring.

"Ooh, raising the stakes!" Komachi hopped to her partner's side. "Then I will too-"

Gaogamon lunged before she could make it, knocking him into the barrier, which burst alive with electricity. Agumon howled and grit its teeth. "Komachi!"

I saw her falter and almost winced. _Come on girl, do it. I ain't kickin' ya while you're down. Do it._

"D-Digisoul, charge!"

I was actually kinda relieved when GeoGreymon swung at us. Gaogamon didn't flinch, of course. He swung his claws and the two of them smashed together like rocks in a rock slide. Flame met wind and for a moment, I had to cover my face. It was hot enough in here, yeesh! Turn down the animal roast.

Then, after a few more slices, at which point I could see had drawn blood, Gaogamon threw GeoGreymon into the barrier again.

There was no way it could handle that a second time. He screamed as long as it took for Komachi to reel him in.

"Match over!" the ref shouted and I took a step back in relief, then squared my shoulders.

One down, two to go.


	5. Chapter 4: Ways to Say Hello

_**A/N: **_Hello! Updating this a lot quicker if I can. It'd be nice anyway. Ah well, here goes everything! Please drop a review if you feel so inclined. :D Thanks for the support so far!

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Four: Ways to Say Hello<strong>_

The last two matches were decidedly not as messy as all of that. Thank god for that too, because my team could only dance so long on so little. I flopped back on the bench, exhaustion running down my sleeves with the sweat and blood where the... I think the dude's name was Pulsa, I dunno, something stupid, the other GeoGreymon nearly knocked my head off with his tail. I probably deserved it but what the hell?

Of course, Luna, my dear, loveable psycho, decided that was a perfect excuse to nearly break the platform with his head. I still have no idea how she and Solarmon managed that but as far as I was concerned, I'd say it was exactly as planned.

"Stop fidgeting with it," Ponch muttered, retying the bandage. "My fight's in like: ten, though I may as well not bother, since Newton decided to find his "I need to rip out someone's asshole" button."

"You would too if you had to limp on a stage with all that pity on them faces," I retorted, swatting at his hands. "Dude, seriously, it's fine. It's a head wound. Looks worse than it is."

"You say that all the time," Ponch muttered. "And one time you actually got a concussion."

"Dude, seriously, you need to go." I gave him a shove. "It's not like I'm doing anything for the next..." I looked at the clock. "Three hours until my match. Go on, you doof. Go get stretched."

Ponch glowered at me and then gave Dorothy a glance. "Make sure she doesn't keel over while we're gone."

Dorothy giggled through her salute. "Y-Yes s-sih-her," she stuttered through laughter. Like she could stop me from doing anything I damn well pleased.

Ponch glared at her, and he was the only one who ever bothered at doing that, but moved towards where the orderly was standing, apparently satisfied. For now. I looked up at the monitor and whistled. "Damn, Newton's getting run over out there. Who's his opponent?"

"Koh." Gutts bit the word out like the kid had personally ransacked his house. "The Light Fang in the lobby were grumbling about him. Kid was late, nearly missed his call! But apparently he's as good as you." He glanced at me, and I snorted.

"There's no one like me, only me, putty-for-brains." I tossed my hair back. "Hope he likes being filleted."

Ponch rolled his eyes. "I'll cream him first," he said to me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Ri-ight."

Above our heads, the monitor lit up. When the light faded, Newton's Kokuwamon lay in a heap like a bunch of unwieldy Legos.

I caught a glimpse of this guy, Koh's, face. His mouth was in a grim line, and everything about his red eyes screamed order.

I snorted. Yeah, this was a pansy, devoted little swot. Justice was on his side too. Watching Ponch hop to his feet, I sat back to analyze the screen.

_Too bad, little lion boy._ The one time that I wasn't late, you were. You missed your opportunity to learn the dance steps. I'm not gonna.

I sat back and watched. When Newton dropped next to me, I offered him a consoling pat on the shoulder.

"Think of it this way," I said, not taking my eyes off of the match. "Someone's gonna beat the shit out of him."

Newton followed my eyes. "And it'd better be _you_, you bratty pain in the ass." He winced as he moved his leg. "Cause if you don't, I'm gonna find a way to ruin your face."

"You don't have nearly enough stamina for that," Barone called with a cheeky smile. Dorothy giggled until she couldn't breathe and I snorted. I didn't have to look to see Newton's face turning an awkward shade of red. I punched him in the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'd castrate you first."

Newton glared at Barone. "You're supposed to be the nice one."

Barone giggled. "Only with those two!"

"And even then," Gutts grumbled, wincing at the screen. "Seriously, Ponch, that dodge was sloppy! The hell were you doing?"

I winced at the sight of Gabumon's flame teetering to nothing. The animal had always been a better defense than offense. Unfortunately, that seemed to be everything this guy lived for.

Gutts covered his eyes. "I can't look. Let me know when the massacre is over."

"He's so supportive, huh?" Barone, even as she said this, was looking a little uncomfortable.

I thought about reminding them of Komachi's Agumon electrocuting itself, but I decided against it. No need to make anybody puke.

Ponch slumped back in five agonizing minutes later. "Sorry, guys. That was insane."

Gutts rolled her eyes. "You coulda had him if you had used Soul."

"You act like I had a chance!" Ponch shouted, face burning with embarrassment. "You saw him. That dumb Coronamon of his is _fast_."

_Fast, but he hits way too late. Way too much self-control. _I decided not to say that aloud, watching the cousins glare across the room. I wasn't sure what that said about them. Gutts was shit at the whole reaffirming self-confidence stuff, but Ponch was also a pretty sore loser.

Then again, I'm one to talk.

Eventually, they stopped and Ponch moved away, letting Gutts stomp his way onto the teleporter pad. "Just watch me," he sneered at us through carrot-orange hair. "I'll stomp him flat!"

We waited a moment until Ponch went over to me, adjusting the wrap on my head again. I let him so he didn't break into that occasional crying fit that he sometimes got into when Gutts wound him up like a slinky. He'd been getting better at that, so the therapist was working on somebody.

"He's screwed," Ponch said after a few minutes.

"No shit," Dorothy hummed.

I swear, whose side was she on?

"Sayo."

I lifted my head to see the Chrysalimon who watched the door. "You've got a visitor."

"I've got a wha-oh crap."

That was about all I could get out before my lap was full of ten-year-old. "Yuki," I coughed, because ow, have you hit by almost sixty pounds of child? Seriously. "I'm glad to see you, but have you forgotten the first rule of sisterly affection?"

Yuki clambered down, rolling her eyes. "No attempted murder of the older sibling unless she deserves it or has taken the last pudding cup without buying a new pack."

I patted her fluffy white hair. "That's right. Good girl."

Though she was pouting hard enough to make wrinkles, I knew she liked it when I said that. She wrapped her arms around me again. "Gutts is doing bad," she said after a moment.

"Bit of an understatement, girl," I said, still watching Koh's digimon. They were pretty solid, I could admit. "Where's the old man?"

"I wanted Pocky," she said, blinking her big pale blue eyes at me like that made a difference.

I flicked her on the nose anyway. "You slave driver."

"Better she learn now," Newton said with a snort, reaching and tugging a lock of Yuki's hair from her face. I mock-glared, knowing he meant no harm by it. "Manipulation, thievery, trickery, foul play, Night Claw handbook in a nutshell."

Yuki giggled at the thought and I finally looked away from the battle.

I didn't want my sister here. She liked everybody, sure, but she doesn't like the dankness, the forced quiet at certain hours. My sister's crazy would always be a crazy of lights and colors, of warm things and holy prayer and healing.

That wasn't Night Claw, or at least, I never saw it that way.

Besides, she had a Holy affinity if I ever saw one. She was no dual like me, the attempt would probably kill her. And I'd kill everyone else. Then Julia would have ChaosDukemon eviscerate me for the new little shits to look at on their first day.

That was a threat she gave us on a weekly basis during invasion drills. As far as I knew, no one had ever fucked up bad enough for her to have to carry it out.

Didn't mean it hadn't ever happened.

When the match ended, my fingers threaded through Yuki's hair. "Well, he done sucked."

"Owes me bourbon," Ponch grumbled, having busied himself with healing his Digimon.

"Don't let the Chief hear you say that," Barone advised now from on the floor. "You know her and the alcohol." Yuki went to bother her as Gutts returned to the room.

"Any of you say shit, I'm going into your rooms and switching your shampoo with alcohol," he warned, sitting on the other side of the room with a glare on his face.

"Good luck getting past security," Dorothy giggled. "And Duke."

"Phascomon would throw you into the lake before that even came close to happening," I said dryly.

Yuki laughed. "I wanna see that!"

"You're not gonna, Dad would kill me."

"Aww..."

That got Gutts to crack a smile. "Your sister has to win it for us. Make sure she does, kay?"

"I don't have to." Yuki turned up her nose. "Nee-san will win because she's _competent_."

I would have fallen off the bench from laughter if Newton hadn't caught me. Gutts' ears turned red.

I loved my sister sometimes.

* * *

><p>I decided to kill time until my match by wandering the lobby. I made sure, for the fifth time, that my bandanna was covering my bandage. Couldn't let people think I was weak or something like that. Hell no. The chatter was kinda funny though.<p>

"Hey, did you see that slip..."

"No way, it's totally gonna be a landslide. Night Claw's used to surprises..."

I felt myself perk up. Surprise, huh? Maybe the Chief decided the early matches were just not flashy enough. Heh, I could dig that.

"Sayo."

I turned and grinned wide. "Speak of the devil and she shall appear in all of her majestic glory." I pretended to bow. "What can I do for you, my queen? Lick your boots, polish your armor, give myself over?"

"Don't give the spectators any ideas," Julia said with a smile that I knew as both predatory and amused. "They have enough for the tabloids without you and I making the front page of the truly deranged."

"I dare someone to put my bare behind on a magazine cover; it'd give people heart palpitations," I muttered, before peering up at her again. "So, Chief, how's my luck?"

Julia thought about it and ChaosDukemon spoke for her. "Keep your head and try not to get killed and the stars are on your side."

"You really _are_ encouraging, ChaosDukemon," trilled a voice from the other side of the lobby. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention and ducked my head to keep from revealing the cringing expression on my face.

Hot damn. That was a strong ass blast of Holy energy. I swear it made the room gleam.

I can feel a headache coming on.

I wasn't sure if Julia noticed, but I felt her hand at my arm, shifting me to her side. It was probably half because me and half because of the man striding at the side of an elegantly armored woman. You know, the one with the aura of God's angels.

I looked at Julia and had to keep my face in its set frown. Julia's smile was as sweet and pressworthy as she ever let it get in public, but I knew that gleam in her eyes. That was her: I have dinner practically on the plate expression.

So. That made that man Chief Glare.

Well, objectively, I could see the appeal. He was fit, had to be to have an Ofanimon running the world. He was dressed like a knight without armor, casual enough to look like an ordinary person.

He sure as hell didn't smell ordinary to me though. His friendly, though solemn smile wasn't enough to fool me either. He and Julia had the same look in their eyes.

Damn, if only that wouldn't be a breach of protocol. I imagine their idea of a romantic night out is massacre in the old ruins of Sky Palace. No wonder we have these tournaments.

ChaosDukemon broke the tension first. "Well, Ofanimon, we both tend to have methods that lean towards the unorthodox. Clearly, Sayo here doesn't seem to mind a bit."

I took my cue. "Nah, of course not. I find it kind of bracing actually, preparing me for the flawed teachers and failed job interviews when I'm too honest."

Ofanimon laughed again. It was a nice laugh, like wind chimes. Yuki would eat it up. "You've trained her well. Does she ask how high to jump too?"

"Ofanimon," Glare scolded, though his lips twitched in amusement. "Behave yourself." He leveled his amber gaze at me. "I'm sorry, it's the tournament. She's usually such a sweetheart."

"Oh, I like her honesty," I said with a grin. "I was going to ask you the same if given permission."

I felt ChaosDukemon restrain a snort. Oh yeah, I had been trained very well.

Julia hid her smile before turning to Glare once more. There wasn't just a challenge in that face, there was nearly a declaration of war using a bloodied flag with sinew thread all over it. "Are you enjoying the matches so far?"

Glare placed his hands in his pockets. I thought that was rather uncivilized for a chief officer to do, but he was the chief officer, he could do whatever he wanted, I guess. "A lot more than I expected to this early on," he admitted with a wink in my direction. Oh lord, he was trying to get under Julia's skin. Didn't he realize she and I had that down to a science? "Yours are very good."

"We have enough training in the ruins to make sure they won't jump at every crack," Julia hummed, trailing her fingers over the creases of my bandanna. "Your children are very good as well, focused, determined. Your little champion has had a great deal of training."

In other words, how many times did you punt his rear into the ocean? I hope it was a lot, it would explain his hair.

Glare was unruffled. The more he stood there, the more I got an image of a boy who smoked a joint in the back of the school but still showed up with high grades and a winning smile. "Could say the same to you."

"Well, you've both been said to take the _personal_ approach," commented another voice from the direction Glare and his partner had come from. An orange-haired teen came strolling towards us, and I figured that would be Koh right there.

Nah, lemme correct myself. The kid didn't just stroll, he _strode_, like he owned the fuck out of the room and everyone in it and he didn't care if we liked it or not. There was swagger in that walk and if I had been any less of a coldhearted brat, I'd have swooned. Lucky for me, I've got that lovely self-control.

Too earnest eyes, brilliant red, with none of their extreme focus from before, looked into mine as he slipped into a salute. "Koh of Light Fang, champion of group B at your service. Pleasure to meet you."

I paused a half-second, taking in the pristine kid standing in front of me, and debated. Then I smiled. There was only one proper response to prey with a mouth.

I bowed, so low and deep it couldn't be mistaken for anything less than an insult. Purple eyes flashing, pendant bouncing at my chest, I lifted my head with the smirk I always loved. "Sayo of Night Claw. The pleasure is _all mine_."


	6. Chapter 5: The Thing About Blood

_**A/N: **_Sorry, sorry about the lack of posting for this! The fight scene gave me some trouble. Ah, well, back now. Here we go! Side note: Why am I calling the team Sayo is on Night Claw? Night Crow was a mistranslation by the team who did the translation.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Five: The Thing About Blood<strong>_

I felt him bristle a little as I straightened myself to proper height. I looked him up and down. Damn bastard was taller than me. How rude. Bad enough I look like a curvy boy on the bad day, now this prim bastard had to surpass me.

I thought it about again and my grin stretched my face. More meat to rip up.

… I really needed to stop teaming up with Dorothy.

"Is something wrong?" I asked with a smile that would have been pleasant from anyone but a Night Claw.

Thankfully, he caught himself, and I saw Glare's eyes glitter. I could feel Julia containing mirth behind me. She really had to behave herself. I wanted to laugh too!

"Pleased to meet you," he finally said. The look on his face was priceless. He was trying not to twitch. I loved it. I stepped closer to Julia's side. "Ready for a good match?"

_Ready for a good slaughtering. _I decided not to say this, and only smiled. "Always."

Glare coughed, glancing at the clock. "You two ought to head back and rest. The match will be starting shortly."

Julia's smile only softened. "Too right, Glare. We'll see each other after the match." She wheeled me about, and we went back into the waiting room. "Excited, are we?"

"Look in a mirror." My words were half-hearted. I kept glancing at the clock as we walked.

Julia mussed my hair in this way that was almost like she cared. Damn, was she okay? Was being around that dude like: a soothing technique? No wonder the tournaments were only once a year. Then she leaned a bit closer. "The last round is gonna be fun. Don't play around too long, though."

"Don't worry, ma'am," I said with a shark's smile. "I'll make a spectacle of myself for you."

"It's not that I'm worried about."

Before I could ask what she meant, she let go of me and marched over to the other Tamers.

I scowled at her back. "God damn you and your cryptic shit."

"It's just her way of showing love," Duke said above my head, chuckling beneath his armor.

"Speak for yourself. You know what she's saying."

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><p>I wiped sweat from my brow. <em>It is way too hot for this. <em>I glanced up at the artificial canopy and grinned to myself. Oh well.

For the final match, the game masters (or Julia, probably Julia) decided to mix things up by making us fight in a simulation of Resistor Jungle. It brought tension, created atmosphere, and was _still _way too damn warm. Access Glacier has less cover but it would have been easier to breathe.

Gaomon yipped near my ear and I looked up, scrambling from a burst of flame. I bit my lip and grinned. Good to know he had a brain inside that hair of his. The lion cub dropped and rolled, lunging for me. I grinned and punched it right back in the nose. Ow.

For the record, it was a Child level. I'm not saying its attacks won't hurt (fire hurts!) but a human can still kick one and send it back a bit.

That's exactly what I did. The Coronamon skidded, crouched, then lunged again. This one was not very creative. Its burning fists met Solarmon's face. My gear, loyal though she was, let out a whine of pain. I winced, but the other two gears she had circling around her like hands shot forward and struck Coronamon in his head. He grunted and moved forward again. I skidded back into a tree, ducking and rolling. _Move_, my mind said. Good thing I listened.

A rod struck where my head once was and I hurried into the undergrowth. Come on offense boy. Come and get me.

"And how long can the Night Claw's hiding game last?" I heard over my head. Stupid referee, they wouldn't be able to see me without the monitors telling them where I was.

"Come on, where's your offense?" Pulsa's voice. I knew it pretty well from his shouts during the fight. It was easy to hear over the noises of the hologram. I just ignored him. He had a bigger mouth than he did a brain.

The other Light Fang began to shout with him, but the Night Claw were quiet.

Then Newton shouted. "How do you know what her offense looks like? You were too busy _pouting _to fight properly!"

I snorted and rolled my eyes. Newton, you idiot. You can't get into a fist fight in the bleachers... probably.

I tuned them out at Gaomon's soft whisper. "Now."

I smiled at the rustle of the bushes and leaped.

Koh yelped and swung. I tackled him and we both rolled. He punched without any hesitation and it smarted, striking my nose and the side of my cheek. He wasn't too noble to not hit a girl. I could respect that.

Unfortunately, I wasn't one to hesitate at the sight of an opening either. I kicked up towards the groin and barely waited for the yelp of pain before kicking again.. He leaped away from me and I tackled him, trying to pin him down. "Luna!"

I rolled off and Lunamon jumped in my place and struck with claws dripping green. He howled pain and the entire stadium went silent.

Despite the silence, I could imagine Julia was smiling.

What, he attacked me with his Digimon too!

I didn't hesitate to run back, gather myself. Koh's eyes were dazed and I licked my lips as they refocused. His Coronamon was glaring at me from his spot on the tree. Thankfully, he was stupid enough (or controlled enough?) to attack Luna instead. They became a multicolored blur of snarling and blood. Boy, was I glad this wasn't the real jungle. We'd have been screwed because tunnel vision.

Koh forced himself to his feet. "Your friends said you were nuts." His voice came out hoarse, ragged with pain. I was a bit proud of myself for causing that. "I didn't want to believe them."

"You probably should have," I said, raising my fists. My body instantly hated me for it. It was probably still sore from the nice cracking it got in my second fight, not to mention the head wound and being hit by a Digimon.

So, he was poisoned, I was tired. Oh, this was gonna suck.

He straightened his stance and that was when I ran forward, swinging a fist to hit his neck. Had to end this fast before I gave out or the poison killed him. Whichever was better.

Koh beat me to it though. His knee hit my stomach and I doubled with a snarl. I swung myself backwards over the pain. I knew what he was trying to hit: my neck. Like hell I was gonna make it that easy on _him_ either. Solarmon caught me and lifted me away. I wiped my mouth but kept the smile.

This was fun, actually.

Koh rubbed his eyes and whistled. Coronamon pulled away reluctantly and seconds later, I figured out why.

"Seadramon!" Koh shouted. Over our heads flew a large sea serpent, water roiling near his mouth.

I tried not to laugh too hard. Okay, this kid was a little more clever than I thought. "Sorry, Sasha," I said to Solarmon.

"Just go, tick," she muttered. I did, leaping from her face to tackle Koh over. I had to ignore Solarmon's scream as she was hit by the ice. He glowered and punched. This was slower than the last and I managed to move my head.

"That all ya got," I challenged through a wheeze. The stomach kick had hurt a little more than I thought it would. I was gonna be feeling this tomorrow. I punched and he kicked at my foot. I blew on my fingers as I skidded backwards.

He grinned at me, though it was strained and weak. "Glad to see you can get ruffled after all..." He was losing focus again. I tackled him. Lose focus, you die, short-stuff!

"Sis, get 'em!" Yuki's voice rang out so loud in the nearly silent hall. "Show 'em your claws! Rip 'em up!"

My heart warmed for a moment, then I ducked my head and shoved. This time, when I pulled myself out of range, Lunamon plopped herself in front of me. Her claws were lifted and glowing purple. "Ya still kicking there?"

"I'll kill him for hitting you," was her bloodthirsty reply.

"You bitch," I said without malice. "I'm runnin' low on gas. Better make..." I swayed suddenly. The jungle was starting to spin. Fuck. Not good, really not good. "We're gotta make it fast."

She didn't turn to look at me, only nodded and charged forward, ears spinning out bubbles. I leaped into the froth after her, chasing Koh into the soap and making him hiss in pain.

"Too bad ya didn't cut me, huh bastard?" I crowed as the soap dug itself into his arms. He glared at me and slammed his head into mine.

I swore in pain, stumbling back.

This time, his punch in the throat succeeded.

I used this opportunity to trip him.

Beside us, Coronamon had bitten Lunamon's arm. She cut his back.

Dear god, we were savages that day. And it was _awesome_.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever. I managed to uppercut him to the chin. His head smacked the tree he had been bracing his foot against, and he fell forward and faceplanted into the dirt. He didn't move.

I grinned, a toothy, bloody grin, and made to smirk at the cameras. At that instant, though, I felt all of the adrenaline that had probably been pumping me since before sunrise drain like fluid from a bottle, and I passed out.

Which, just so you know, hurts like hell.

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><p>When I woke up, the first thing I was aware of was my father's hand in my hair. I knew his hand, kind of thin, a little worn from ;ong hours and sickness and what was probably my mother's issues. I didn't mind it, he was stroking gently against my bangs, but when my body twitched, he instantly pulled away. He understood.<p>

Unfortunately, personal space was not a thing Yuki was good at. As soon as I groaned loudly enough, she tackled me.

"You were so cool, sis!"

"And now I'm in _so_ much pain," I grumbled. I couldn't even sit up yet. God... freaking artificial environments weren't supposed to be that real.

"The emulator effects should wear off soon," my father murmured. "I tweaked them a few days ago."

I tried to grin, but I think it was a grimace. I dunno, I'm shit at smiling.

"So," I said, once I could sit up properly. "Was it a win or not?"

"You almost won."

Julia had been standing in the doorway of the infirmary the entire time? Damn her to hell.

"Almost?" I repeated, feeling an irritating itch at the base of my neck.

"You passed out before the call was made." Julia went over to me and rapped my forehead. I winced. "So... technically it was a draw."

"I can smell a 'but' in there boss," I muttered. "I don't think it's rosy, either."

"Koh conceded," Julia said with a sardonic smile.

It took a moment for that to sink in. Then I glared at the curtains. "That pretentious _asshole._"


End file.
